Video by Kent Nishimura and Katie Urbaszewski/The Honolulu Advertiser
'EWA BEACH — The sixth-graders at Iroquois Point Elementary School enjoyed their parting gift to the school on the day of their graduation, as artist Thomas Deir unveiled a mural that students in grades four through six had worked on since early May.
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Deir drew the outline and taught 300 students how to paint the mural, which graces an outside wall of the cafeteria.
The mural features a beach with an American flag spanning the sand. Three ships float in the ocean, and Diamond Head can be seen in the background. Silhouettes of students stand alongside King Kamehameha, and pieces of paper displaying Iroquois Point values flutter above their heads.
"I worked on the sand, with the pink," said Meaghan Gunderson, 9. "Mr. Deir showed us how to mix the colors and which brushes to use."
"I start out by having each child practice stroking and dabbing with a brush, while at the same time teaching them about the science of color," Deir said in a statement.
Deir based the mural's design on a student questionnaire asking them what Iroquois Point means to them.